Wesley Barras of Total Wallpaper in Richmond, Texas has some advice he’d like to share with homeowners about the fine art of paper hanging. Here’s what he suggests.

Ordering Wallpaper: Two sheets of the exact same wallpaper can look slightly off if they were run through the printing press at different times so order a little more than you think. If you run out before completing a job, you may have a difficult time finding your pattern with the specific run number to match what you have.

Buying Online? Order Samples: If you order wallpaper online order samples first because images become pixilated when they are compressed to fit in a website. This means a picture may be slightly different from the real thing and colors can look different.

Priming the Walls: Make sure your contractor or yourself primes the walls with primer or shellac before hanging the wallpaper because wallpaper glue needs a smooth surface to stick to. If you don’t prime the walls, the glue will stick to the drywall which makes removing it a very long and tedious process, and can damage the drywall.